"We wanted to build a house with our own hands, something pure and sacred”
A story from India
Raghav and I first spoke in 2020. Stuck at home during the pandemic, he was planting a small vegetable garden in his parents’ backyard in New Delhi and was dreaming about moving to the countryside to start a rural community. I’ve heard many people say that and never do anything about it (myself included). But what Raghav and his brother Ansh have created since then is pretty amazing. I’m delighted to share their story with you.
The two young architects turned natural builders have settled in a tiny village near Rishikesh in northern India. ‘Quite remote’ might not adequately describe the territory. Home to only six houses, the small settlement is nestled at the foothills of the Himalayas, overlooking the Ganges. The surrounding forest is in the buffer zone of a national park, so the village is often visited by elephants, bears and leopards. So far, so adventurous.
The nearest grocery shop is 10km away. To get there one has to walk down to the river and cross a small wooden bridge built by the villagers. During the monsoon season however, the river swells up and the bridge gets washed away. For Raghav and Ansh this is a time to return to New Delhi. It is an opportunity to catch up on other projects (Ansh also works as a media artist, and Raghav hosts the Tiny Farm Friends Podcast) and see friends and family. But their hearts are in the mountains.
“It’s nice to hang out with friends, but I feel more anxious in the city. Everything is done for you. I don’t do any physical labour which means I’m not tired in the same way. The deep work happens in the mountains.”
Dissatisfied with the fast-paced, consumption-focused urban life, Raghav and his brother had their mind set on a new adventure. They completed permaculture courses online, read books on self-build houses and attended natural building workshops to be as prepared as possible for their rural endeavour. Their project should become a showcase for regenerative design. They set out to build a house with their own hands, solely made from biomaterials. Living in tune with nature would enable them to expand their spiritual practice and focus on deep work. While Raghav and Ansh have achieved all of that, getting there was a bumpy ride.
From the struggle to find and secure a piece of land, to the challenges that come with the remote location, they had to juggle many setbacks, all nicely documented on their YouTube channel. One big learning was to better manage their cash flow. City Quitters often dream of escaping capitalism and living self-sufficiently.
“I can’t just be a rebel and reject the city. The city is also where the money comes from.”
Dealing with the impact of climate change first-hand was another. Wildfires are more frequent now and the monsoon season has become increasingly unpredictable. At times they were stuck in the village, with the river flooded and the bridge destroyed.
What impressed me the most though, is how they have navigated personal relationships with the villagers, who were very suspicious of them when they first arrived. Two bearded guys from the city… would the women in the village still be safe? They had to earn their trust. That also meant dealing with the men of the village who now showed up to their house to drink, because their wives wouldn’t tolerate alcohol at home. Still, Raghav speaks about them with such kindness, accepting his outsider position, and with that the need to adapt to local circumstances. The two brothers currently share a rented house with the mother of the landlord who is in her seventies. They call her ‘dadi’ (granny) and have daily meals together. Sometimes they project a movie on the outside walls of their house for the whole village to enjoy. The privacy they are used to from the city is non-existent here. They also have to downplay their privilege (never mention they have taken a flight, for example) so as not to alienate the villagers.
“It took some time to gain the trust of the village folks, but they have now become our extended family. Getting accustomed to the countryside has been a process full of challenges, but it is worth it.”
Raghav and Ansh aspire to actively engage the local community and harness their indigenous wisdom. By utilising materials like cob, a mixture of clay, sand and straw, the brothers are also questioning prevailing cultural norms that associate vernacular practices with poverty. To build a house with your own hands, with natural materials available locally, used to be a universal human experience, a primal act connecting us to the land like nothing else. Through their work, Raghav and Ansh demonstrate not only that it can be done, but also that it is an enjoyable and rewarding process. By bringing back practices and materials that have fallen out of fashion, they are giving value to things that are regenerative and easily available.
“We have forgotten that the most abundant and natural material is beneath our feet. It is non-toxic and biodegradable.”
Again, the combination of traditional methods with contemporary practices, incorporating materials like mycelium and algae for example, generates compelling new concepts. This is exactly where the potential lies for creative rural regeneration – in the integration of old and new, local and external. Raghav and Ansh generate livelihood opportunities for the rural population and host art residencies for people from all over the world. The brothers are well-connected to an international community of designers, architects and curious builders. The mud house they have been working on for three years is almost finished. More than 70 people from over 15 countries have contributed to building it.
“We can't wait for people to come and experience how it is to live in a natural house that has been made with so much love!”
What can we learn from this story? The hyper-individualistic mindset that is so ingrained in western societies, the swipe culture that dominates urban lives (freely exchanging partners, friends, and lifestyles that no longer align), makes it difficult to imagine a different way. But at what cost? Much like the example from Japan that I shared recently, Raghav and Ansh’s story shows what beautiful worlds are possible if we open ourselves up to a more community-minded life.
x peace
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Feeling inspired? Check out Tiny Farm Lab for more photos and lessons learned during the building process
